The Board Report is the Gresham-Barlow School District's summary of regular school board meetings. In the Board Report, you will find the superintendent's monthly report on the school district, a summary of action taken by the district's board of directors, and information about individuals honored by the school board. The Board Report is published after every regular school board meeting. If you live in Gresham, you can watch board meetings LIVE on MetroEast Community Media Comcast Cable Channel 27 and Frontier Cable Channel 35. If you live in Damascus, you can watch a tape of the board meeting on Willamette Falls TV every Saturday at 1 p.m. on Cable Channel 23.

Below you will find the latest edition of the Board Report.
To view back issues click here.

Gresham High School senior Sirgeo Hoffman The board recognized Gresham High School Senior Sirgeo Hoffman who was selected First Team All-State Running Back through a vote of the state’s 6A head coaches. Sirgeo was the Offensive Player of the Year in the Mt. Hood Conference this past season and was also selected as a First Team All-Mount Hood Conference Running Back. He rushed for 1,863 yards, which led the state, and scored 23 touchdowns his senior season. Many college football programs are pursuing Sirgeo.

Citizens’ Requests of the Board There were no citizens’ requests of the board.

Superintendent’s ReportSuperintendent Schlachter provided an update to the school board on a variety of education issues.

Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)Superintendent Schlachter shared potential changes to the act and shared a report that outlines President Obama’s fiscal year 2016 budget request for education.

Oregon Education Investment Board (OEIB): The OEIB sunsets at the end of this legislative session unless the legislature votes to reauthorize OEIB or modify it.

Funding for K-12 Education: The superintendent shared that statewide K-12 education funding of $7.875 billion is required for the Gresham-Barlow School District to maintain its current educational program and add full-day kindergarten.

School Board RetreatThe school board will meet in a daylong retreat on February 20. The following topics will be reviewed:

Strategic planning for the 2020 vision

Equity work

Negotiations

Technology plan

Disciplinary practices

District and school improvement planning

Pathways through high school to career or college work

Curriculum adoption needs, challenges, and plans

Athletic fields project update

Future school construction bond planning

Action ItemsAPPROVED, ratifying the resolution recognizing March 2-6, 2015 as Classified School Employees Week in the Gresham-Barlow School DistrictMarch 2-6, 2015, has been designated as Classified School Employees Week. The resolution passed by the school board acknowledges the importance of a strong local school system and the contribution that classified employees make to that system.

APPROVED, the appointment of the following board representatives for high school commencementsAdult Living Program: June 1 at 7 p.m.Board Members: Matt O’Connell and Carla Piluso

APPROVED, authorizing district staff to move forward with the planning and preparation for full-day kindergarten in the 2015-16 school yearBeginning in the 2015-16 school year, the state of Oregon will include full-day kindergarten in the state school funding formula. The administration will begin recruiting early learning teachers, determining curriculum needs for the additional classrooms, developing a full-day instructional model, and planning professional learning to ensure that expectations are consistently high and programs are similar across the district.

APPROVED, authorizing district staff to proceed with planning the scope of work, budget, construction schedule, fundraising, and loan terms for the urgent items at Gresham High SchoolAt the last board work session, the administration outlined upcoming needs at Gresham and Sam Barlow High Schools. Needs were categorized as “urgent” and “horizon” in terms of timing.

The administration requested authorization to proceed with the following work:

Create a comprehensive plan for outdoor athletic stadium facilities for both large high schools with the understanding that the district will rely on a General Obligation Bond to fund most of the improvements.

Finalize the scope of work, budget, and construction schedule for Gresham High School’s field turf and drainage, track repair and rehabilitation, and relocation of the bleachers and light poles to the outside of the track area (These items are considered urgent).

Solicit donations (both cash and in-kind) to help fund the project and explore the use of professional fundraisers.

Issue a term sheet to area banks for loan purposes. The loan should not exceed ten years based on the useful life of the turf.

Take board action to allow for refunding/pay off of the loan with General Obligation Bond proceeds from a future bond.

Can’t Attend Board Meetings?
You can watch regular school board meetings LIVE on Comcast cable channel 27 and Frontier cable channel 35. MetroEast Community Media replays the board meeting at the following times:

Second Showing-Monday at 7 p.m.
Third Showing-The following Thursday at 4 p.m.

If you live in Damascus-
Board meetings are shown on Willamette Falls TV for patrons in the Damascus area. They are scheduled for cablecast on channel 23 every Saturday at 1 p.m.